I was in Hong Kong at the start of the week for the Gift Fair and met up with plenty of Australian suppliers there sourcing products for our market for 2016.
I appreciated the opportunity of sharing products I liked the look of with suppliers who could themselves see the products in Hong Kong and consider them with a retailer’s endorsement.
Importing is a complex and fraught process. You need to commit up front to large quantities, negotiating with companies that may have differing quality commitments to what they show you and doing this is a situation where copying others is rampant.
Get it right and you can make a lot of money. Get it wrong and you warehouse in Australia will be stocked with goods that do not sell for years.
I’d like more suppliers to meet retailers in Hong Kong. I think such co-operation would lead to more successes for both.